And then we were 39 days away from the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season. There have still be 143 days since the most recent race. Another month and change does not feel like that much time. The final pieces are falling into place though A.J. Foyt Racing had its driver lineup set 76 days ago.
The 2025 season was not as great as the 2024 season for the Foyt group, but it was still far stronger than where the organization has been in recent seasons. On a few occasions, a victory was within reach even on days when it felt like a stretch. It nearly pulled off a stunner in Detroit. This year will see another driver change and the team is getting younger, which historically has not been good for the Foyt organization.
At A Glance... This is where we learn where this team stands
Once is happenstance. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is a pattern.
The technical alliance with Team Penske has proven to be a success for A.J. Foyt Racing. It went from a team that had one top ten finish in 2023 and zero drivers finishing in the top fifteen of the championship over eight seasons to a top the championship team in 2024 and it fell just short of getting back in there in 2025. Its three podium finishes in 2025 is as many as the Foyt team had in the previous ten seasons.
Foyt has moved up to a higher level, even if it is only in the middle of the field, but we will find out this year where the organization stands. Another season with a driver pushing for the top ten in the championship confirms the team is a solid mid-pack team after being constantly in the cellar. However, a slip will cause questions if the alliance has maxed out and if Penske is still giving Foyt enough to remain a challenger.
The rest of the IndyCar grid is improving. Meyer Shank Racing leapfrogged Foyt in its first year partnered with Chip Ganassi Racing, and MSR put both cars in the top eight of the championship. Dale Coyne Racing made a big jump with Rinus VeeKay, and now it will have Andretti Global partnering on a car with Dennis Hauger. Ed Carpenter Racing won a race last year while Foyt has had a few close calls but did not come out on top. Then there is the strengthened Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing group. The middle of the pack is only getting tougher, and it will be easy to slip behind if an organization is not on point.
For Foyt, it must show growth this year to believe it has cemented itself as a competitive group. We have many years as an example of how A.J. Foyt Racing is run and operated to know it is a fish out of a water at the moment. Podium finishes, top five finishes on street courses, top ten in the championship, it is all a fluke until it becomes regular. One more season can at least lead you to believe the team has turned a corner, but there are plenty of teams that will be looking to push Foyt down the order, and they just might find themselves squeezed out.
Until otherwise seen, it must be believed this group will remain competitive on ovals, and that will lift their season. Santino Ferrucci has the pace to be a race winner on ovals. His road and street course form is still not enough to be trusted. Ferrucci did well in 2024, but his best finishes in 2025 came after timely cautions lifted him up the order. Banking on luck is not a winning strategy. There is a step he must take but he has been competing regularly in IndyCar since 2019. This could be his ceiling.
Adding Caio Collet brings in a respectable Indy Lights talent who progressed between year one and two in the junior series. Collet is preparing for IndyCar in terms of the circuits and there will be no surprises. However, Foyt does not have a great track record with young drivers. See Benjamin Pedersen, Dalton Kellett and Matheus Leist.
If there is any encouragement, Foyt had both cars running competitively. David Malukas was the top driver in the team's second entry. If it wasn't for the 26 points Ferrucci lost for a penalty due to improper ballast installation at Detroit, the two drivers would have finished a point apart in favor of Ferrucci. The team was on the doorstep of the championship top ten with both cars. That is a good spot to be in. Now comes maintaining that form with another change to the driver lineup.
2025 A.J. Foyt Racing Review
Wins: 0
Best Finish: 2nd (Detroit, Road America)
Poles: 0
Best Start: 2nd (Detroit, Milwaukee, Nashville)
Championship Finishes: 11th (David Malukas), 16th (Santino Ferrucci)
Caio Collet - #4 Chevrolet
Numbers to Remember:
3: Rookies that completed a full season for A.J. Foyt Racing in the last eight seasons
23: Average championship finish for those three rookie drivers
15: Podium finishes in 28 Indy Lights starts for Collet
21: Top five finishes in 28 Indy Lights starts
What is the best possible outcome?
Foyt remains on the level we saw in 2025, Collet acclimates quickly to the car and has good speed from the start, he picks up a handful of top ten finishes and he is somewhere between 11th and 15th in the championship, like where both Foyt cars were last season.
What is realistic?
We haven't seen Collet in the car in a session that matters. We have no idea how he is going to figure into the running order. A realistic season is Collet has a few top ten finishes, he is the top rookie, and he cracks the top fifteen in the championship, but what feels more likely is Collet is somewhere around 17th or 18th in the championship.
Last year, none of the three rookies finished in the top twenty in the championship. The year before that, the best rookie was 16th and no others finished in the top twenty. In 2023, Marcus Armstrong was rookie of the year in 20th after not running any of the ovals. The rest was outside the top twenty. You must go back to 2022 to find a rookie that finished in the top fifteen of the championship, and Christian Lundgaard was 14th. David Malukas was also 16th that year. The last rookies to finish in the top ten of the championship was in 2019 when Felix Rosenqvist was sixth and Colton Herta was seventh.
Based on recent IndyCar history, Collet will have a battle to crack the top fifteen and we should not be expecting that.
Santino Ferrucci - #14 Chevrolet
Numbers to Remember:
9: Top ten finishes in Ferrucci's first 41 road/street course starts from 2019 through 2024
9: Top ten finishes in Ferrucci's 20 road/street course starts in the last two seasons
9: Ferrucci's only top ten start in the 2025 season was ninth in the first Iowa race
What is the best possible outcome?
Ferrucci's oval form is spectacular, and that carries his season. Six top five finishes with a victory or two elevates his championship finish and respectable road and street course results has him in the picture for the top five in the championship. He could be fifth, but he more likely misses out and ends up sixth or seventh in the championship in a standout season for the Foyt team.
What is realistic?
Somewhere between his 2024 season and his 2025 season is where we see Ferrucci fall in 2026. It would be no surprise if he wins an oval race. It will not be easy considering the level of competition, but even if he does not win, we know Ferrucci is going to be quick and he will get some results. He is going to get a few top tens and a few of those will likely be top five finishes. At that point, it will come down to his road and street course form.
The last few seasons have been better for Ferrucci and the Foyt team, but it does feel like the team is at the limit. It can run well, but a championship is a little much when Álex Palou, Scott Dixon, Patricio O'Ward and three Team Penske entries are on the grid. It will take a lot to crack the top five. Ferrucci was ninth in the championship two years ago. He can replicate that form and surprise no one in 2026. However, someone is going to improve and jump forward in 2026. It could be Foyt, but Foyt could also be the team that loses ground because another organization is flat out better, and slipping down to 14th or 15th in the championship is just part of the cycle of competition.
The 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season begins on Sunday March 1 with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Fox's coverage will begin at noon Eastern.
